The Odd Origin Of The World's First Sci-Fi Convention

The story was so rich that, almost a century later in the 1960s, a conspiracy theory would take hold alleging that there existed a secret Vril Society who first established themselves in pre-Nazi Germany and who were basically the inner circle of the Thule Society, a cult who liked to think of themselves as superior beings and supported the Nazi-beliefs in the whole Aryan race thing. Kind of wish these people really could grow wings so they could just fly the f**k away.

Anyway, back to the late 19th century, where people were really getting into their sci-fi. Bulwer-Lytton’s book would become the precedent for modern stories about strange worlds and their workings. When H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine was published in 1895, The Guardian’s review started off with: “The influence of the author of The Coming Race is still powerful, and no year passes without the appearance of stories which describe the manners and customs of peoples in imaginary worlds, sometimes in the stars above, sometimes in the heart of unknown continents in Australia or at the Pole, and sometimes below the waters under the earth. The latest effort in this class of fiction is The Time Machine, by HG Wells.”

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The Coming Race with its Vril-ya garnered such a niche following that in 1891, The Vril-Ya Bazaar and Fête fundraiser festival was held at the famous Royal Albert Hall in London. It is this five-day event that is considered by many to be the world’s very first sci-fi convention, complete with merch booths and people dressing up like the winged Vril-ya.

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The Odd Origin Of The World's First Sci-Fi Convention
Source: Pinoy Daily News